Geoff, x-post to the german group. They might have some tricks on how to
approach Solara successfully. One idea could be the right language (=german)
?

German sailors, please advise our American friends.

Bitte...

Bjarke
(Danish)



"Geoff Schultz" wrote in message
.. .
The following chronicles my futile attempts to get Solara AG, a
manufacturer of Solar Panels in Germany, to live up to their warranty
obligations. My panels failed and it appears that Solara AG has decided
to ignore me as well as the dealer and the distributor. While this
problem relates to marine panels, Solara AG is also a large provider of
land based panels.

In 2003 I moved my sailboat to from the Caribbean to Ft. Lauderdale, FL
in order to do some extensive equipment upgrades. One of the projects
was the installation of two solar panels. After a lot of research I
decided upon Solara AG's SM225M solar panels as they provided the
highest output available per their footprint and their flexibility
allowed them to be mounted on my hard dodger. The following link
provides a good view of the panels as well as information on the panels:
http://www.barden-uk.com/semi-flexible-panels.html. I ordered two
panels at almost $1000/ea from SE Marine in Oregon. After completing
many projects we moved the boat back to the Caribbean. The panels
functioned fine during the next cruising season, but upon return to the
boat in 2004 they were no longer functioning. One provided no output
and the other would only provide output first thing in the morning when
the panel was cool.

The panels carry a 20 year warranty, so I felt secure that my problem
would be quickly resolved. I contacted SE Marine and they put me in
contact with Peter Burcat, who is a founder and executive VP of Solara
Energy, Inc. Solara Energy is the primary US distributor of Solara AG
solar panels. Solara AG is based in Germany. It was clear that there
was no way to get replacement panels down to the Caribbean, so I decided
to wait until we passed through the US again. In July of 2006 we once
again brought the boat back to the US and I began writing to Peter
Burcat even before we arrived. Peter tried to direct me back to SE
Marine, but that didn't go very far as they said they had purchased the
panels through Peter's company and they couldn't do anything to help me.

After some more finger pointing, Peter had me contact Frank Heise
) at Solara AG in Germany. Initally Frank and I had
very good communication. Frank, who is the export manager, was asking
me questions about the installation and the problem that I was having.
We exchanged multiple e-mails and I provided photographs of the
installation. On July 24th, 2006 I received my last e-mail from Frank.
All of my many e-mails to him since then have gone unanswered. I've
also called and left voice mail for Frank, but I haven't had any calls
returned.

I asked Peter for a list of contacts at Solara, AG and all that he
provided was a copy of contacts from Solara AG's web site. This list
seemed rather thin as Solara Energy was the exclusive distributor for
Solara AG panels. Peter has forwarded copies of my e-mails on to Frank
Heise, but apparently has heard nothing from him. If that's true, then
clearly something has gone very wrong in the business relationship
between the primary distributor and the manufacturer.

I eventually found the e-mail address of Solara AG's CEO, Thomas Rudolfe
) and e-mailed him. I didn't hear anything back. I
also tried , which is listed as their information contact
e-mail address on their web site and received no response. SE Marine
has sent several e-mails and received no response.

This has been going on for 5 months and I've gotten absolutely nowhere.
Further, I don't see any resolution forthcoming. The bottom line is
that if you're looking for solar panels, I would stay clear of Solara AG
panels. Their products may have excellent specs, but they don't stand
behind them. The US distributor has done little to help me resolve this
problem and the German company seems to feel that they don't need to
resolve foreign warranty claims.

-- Geoff Schultz
www.GeoffSchultz.org